Seven Devils
by Danganphobia
Summary: Juvia has had dreams for as long as she could remember - but it's not her fault she screams in the middle of the night, and that's why she's going to need the help of not just a lingering Gray Fullbuster, all her friends most likely as well.
1. holy water

** "Holy water, cannot help you down."**

* * *

Juvia jolted up from her bed, freeing herself from the pool of sweat she had drowned herself in. She sat up, breathing heavily. After a few pants, her breathing cooled down. Juvia ran a hand through her bangs. She could feel sweat dripping down her neck... probably the long t-shirt she had worn to bed was even soaked. But Juvia couldn't blame herself for this mess. It wasn't her fault, it was _them_again. The dreams.

"Shit..." She cursed to herself, "It happened again."

Each time they get intense, the more Juvia felt suffocated when she awoke from her dreams. They take time, energy, and some pressure to shift out of the hell she sees every night. Juvia can remember each one of them. She wakes up in a hotel filled with rooms from one up to ten, each room she goes into begins to be emotionally and physically suffering, for every one room Juvia wakes up, not entirely.

Sleep Paralysis blocks her freedom. As much as her body wants to wake up, it does, except her mind is still trapping her into these devilish nightmares.

Juvia looked around. She's most definitely alone in the apartment... that's what frightens her however. She didn't prefer a roommate because she wasn't the best with people. Matter of fact she used to hate fitting in, she wasn't normal, she could admit to that. That fact angered her and she began having those dreams, they were messages unknown to her. Messages possibly from relationships? Her mind may never decipher.

Juvia spotted her phone at the night table.

_**Six a.m**_

Oh, classes are in an hour. Juvia sighed frustratedly slipping out of bed and not bothering to make it up, remembering the phone alarm wasn't even set. _Thanks, dream_. For attempting to be her alarm for the five hundredth time.

She went into the bathroom to splash water in her face. Water is the miracle of existence. When the cold hits her face she's immediately refreshed and rejuvenated.

* * *

Juvia got herself dressed, by the time it was half passed six, oh the professor's going to be pissed. Going back into her room to grab her bag, on a rushing overboard because she's late, her phone just had to ring before her shuffled mind can even think about it. She picks it up, the environment on the line was loud, and once's Juvia heard the voice she had an idea of who it is.

"Hello? Juvia?" _Lucy._

"Hi Lucy, what's up?" Juvia spoke into the phone, proceeding to leave the apartment unit, she speed walked through the hallway jamming her finger on the elevator arrow director multiple times.

"The damn time is what's up! Where the hell are you? You just missed the six fifteen bus!"

"I can take the M Eighty Five that comes at six fifty."

"Yeah but," Lucy was coming out of the six fifteen bus that was at his next stop, "You're gonna be late at this point!"

The university building just blocks down. Students were coming in cars, cabs, whatever transportation, there was even a subway in Magnolia University's downtown. Juvia was now outside at the next bus stop waiting patiently for it to arrive.

"Don't worry about me, you're at school so just go." She tells Lucy calmly.

"But Gildarts is super tough on latecomers. Juvia, this isn't the first time you came late but this is later than all the lates, I'm worried."

Juvia smiled to herself, Lucy always shows worry when Juvia is not herself. She isn't aware every night Juvia is screaming loudly after days on end of night terrors, the sleep paralysis in between, and what starts it all, the nightmare.

"Something happening Juvia? Stressed lately? Maybe the girls and I should come over when classes are over, you've been coped up in that apartment for so long I bet Gray and the neighbors wonder what you do in there."

_"She's always screaming in the middle of the night." Muffled voices are heard audibly._

_"Only in the night? How occasionally?"_

_"What's that scream in room three twenty one?"_

_Welcome to the endless house of release. Juvia was standing in front of a tall building. The sign had been printed in bold._

Snapping out of her thoughts, Juvia recalled what Lucy just said shaking her head.

"Yeah, it's just stress. I've been feeling out of it lately, nothing too serious, no need to worry yourself Lucy." Juvia watched the bus pull up at the stop.

"So...the neighbors are not complaining?" Lucy stopped at the courtyard, students passing by.

"I'm not sure what you mean. Besides isn't Gray in one of the units on the second floor?" She chuckles.

"He needs to keep an eye on you. Remember all of us go to the university and he's the only one who lives at your complex. Even if you don't know him like that, you don't want people noticing that you come out of your house late everyday. And I don't want to hear you've been bringing boys up there. Anyway, I gotta go. Get your ass to History."

"Alright alright! See you there. I have a bus to catch." Juvia hung up, staring at some of the patiently waiting people going into the bus, she does so too, but stops in her tracks digging in her sling bag, and in all the pockets. Her transportation card. It's gone. Juvia slapped her pockets, people stepped in, she was the only one panicking as the bus driver looked at her. Juvia fished out her wallet, the card wasn't in there. She remembered leaving it in her drawer after using it to drive it to the pharmacy to pick up prescribed pills.

"Oh no..."

"Hey, do you have it on ya or not?" He asked concerned.

"N-No I mean, yes I had it with me at my house but I might have left it there and... sorry I was in a hurry, I don't have it-"

"Just get in." He ordered.

"I-I... w-what?" Juvia asked blinking.

"Get in. Don't you have a class to get to? There's that university a few stops down."

Juvia looked at her designer watch, stuffing her things back in her bag and strapping it back over her shoulder. Its seven a.m, she's going to miss the class, so she steps in the bus and takes the nearest seat by the door. The door was about to close when two hands pried it back open, some heads stared at a man with a transportation card in his hands and he handed it to the driver. Onyx hair popped into view, Juvia stared at him as he walked in and stopped at the seat Juvia was sitting at in a hurry as the bus began move. There was an empty space next to her.

"Sorry. Anyone sitting here?"

_Just my paranoid self._Juvia wished to say. However over her dead body.

"No," She simply responded invitingly, "No one that I know of." _No one who's like me. No abnormal human as I. No weird being._

The man gives her a warm smile. Juvia knows him all too familiar, that's Gray Fullbuster, the one that just sat down next to her - the one who lives in the same complex - the one who can possibly be closest to hearing her screams at night.

Too bad they both are only acquainted. That could be... a good thing.

"Are you late, too? Saw you head out in a hurry." He asked. Juvia nodded.

"Class doesn't start in now... forty five minutes. I learned something, never go to class when you're recovering from a two day hangover." Gray sighs.

Juvia cracked a smile at that comment, just a little.

"You used to this late thing?"

"You could say that. Classes already started for me."

"Figured. What's your reason?"

Juvia paused for a moment, and just shakes her head, "Nothing too serious, just stress-related with sleeping-in and stuff, my alarm never helps me."

"Simply don't trust them. They can't help you if you're a dark sleeper."

The bus stops at a next stop, "I need a cup of coffee..." Gray gets up, leaving an empty seat by Juvia again who furrowed her eyebrows in confusion, supposedly he's going to be skipping or some sort. No. Lucy knows him and says he does not skip classes. Well he's lucky as hell to have time to spare. Juvia stared down at the floor eyeing a green card on the floor. That's a gift card... A $25 Starbucks one. He must've dropped it, Juvia quickly picked it up and the bus doors folded closed, moving again. And to think she was going to get up and give it to the guy who may know about her nightmares. She can't let out this secret to _anyone._

More importantly, she's gotta let herself out of this bus soon. She has class.


	2. keep me out

**"Thousand armies couldn't keep me out."**

* * *

After that little talk Juvia and Gray had, eventually the bus had stopped a block by the university. Juvia sped out of the bus and made her way to the building, running inside and entering History which was gladly on the first floor. She took the shortcut. She's been in the school since freshman year, going through the long shortcut, which is throughout the entire campus courtyards is asking to be another ten minutes late. She knew the college well and she decided to just enter the front courtyard and to the entrance, the north hallway and there the room was. Gildarts, or as everyone called her Mr. Clive was scribbling notes on the large chalkboard, there was a row of seats, even though some eyes stared at her Juvia quietly went up the steps to enter the row where Lucy and Levy were, they waved for her to come over.

Juvia flashed them a quick smile before sitting in the empty chair next to them, sighing a sigh of relief that Mr. Clive didn't-

"You're late, Miss Lockser, welcome to class and get some notes down because you know in this class I don't repeat squat." The professor turned around to face the full classroom of over fifty or more students that began to snicker. Juvia blushed faintly, "Sorry, and yes, I'll get some notes down."

"Smooth, we're just about to end the class in eight minutes." Levy reminded Juvia who started to bring out her books for notetaking on top of it was Gray's startbucks gift card he had dropped. Lucy eyed it suspiciously.

"I hope this late thing wasn't all because of a craving for beverage." Lucy chortled sliding her notebook a bit to the side for Juvia see her notes in an open view.

"This isn't mine, stop making these assumptions. I was late, how could I _possibly_go to Starbucks?" Juvia whispered pushing the point out of a ballpoint pen and scribbling down Lucy's notes in script swifty and quickly. She eyed the clock then at her composition paper.

"Then who's? Somebody ask you to hold it so you could, um, spend it?" Lucy interrogates, Juvia stuffed the gift card in her pocket. Juvia sighed, "No." She huffed, "That the textbook pages for the week?"

Lucy rolled her eyes, "_Yes._And some are the ones you missed the _last_time you were late because of your stress issues. Now who's gift card is that?"

Juvia was half way done copying Lucy's notes, she stopped at a sentence and looked at Lucy, who was still glaring at her. She eyed Levy who was intent on listening on what Mr. Clive had to say about World War II.

"I met Gray on the bus." Juvia confessed, Lucy's eyes widened, "Seriously?!"

"Miss Heartfilia." Mr. Clive's voice was stern, it startled Lucy as eyes turned her way, Juvia eyed each of the eyes looking back at them, she felt uncomfortable... _like the dreams._She'd go to a numbered room, and each room something had to be watching her. Sometimes during these repeated dreams that's when her body breaks her free and wakes her up before her locked up mind even tries to wake up itself. She'd lay awake with open eyes and see them... over and over, when the moments are over...

_She'd scream, and cry, shout until her eyes are bloodshot red and claw at her bedsheets._

"Y-yes, Mr. C?" Lucy answered to her name that was called by the professor.

"Tell me, after the war many soilders suffered from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. You must be wondering well is this thing a thing soilders only experience, right?"

Juvia listened in wondering what Lucy has on her mind answering this. When you're dozing off, talking, or distracted, Zeira would know. All professors know. They just do.

"Yeah. They served in the war, they experience lots of death of those and loved ones-"

"Absolutely bullshit Miss Heartfilia!"

The class didn't laugh. They just continued to listen with their ears. Mr. Clive wasn't the only teachers who got a bit... rowdy with their students.

"It is?" Lucy cluelessly asked making Levy snicker.

"Yep! You god damn kids are always about what I heard right? Clean your ears. Soldiers experience fear. But so does everyone else. I'm not a Science teacher but I was a Psychology Major. Every has that one event in their lives that kept them thinking at night." He began to walk up the steps and step in front of students as he spoke, eventually stopping in front of the table of the trio, eyeing Lucy.

"You have potential, Lucy, you're smart. But one thing. You can be a complete dunce. Sometimes even worse than Dragneel."

Lucy frowned offended. "Look at me. Don't feel down about yourself, you still have things to acheive." He comforts. Lucy looks up at him again.

"Lucy, have you ever had a nightmare?"

Juvia had her eyes dead set on Lucy at this point. Levy stopped scribbling to watch the show that was at their table, so did the rest of the students, some closing their laptops. Laptops were able to be used for research purposes, meaning in class it was an acception too. Only for school purposes, mostly to study.

"Yes, a lot, actually-"

"Did you ever feel fear during these dreams? Like, wanting to get out of all madness and, want to wake up?"

Lucy paused shrugging, "Usually I'd just be running from some bad guy and when I get stabbed, or to safety I just wake up. It's the type of fear of wanting to get away from the killer."

"So you _do_feel fear, as if the killer really is aiming to kill you."

"That's what killers do... am I wrong with that one?" Snickers fill the class at Lucy's nervous question. Juvia was drowning in thoughts until he began talking again.

"No. See Lucy, fear is not evil. It's okay to feel fear. What to question is the extent and how it affects you. These soilders, they're fighting for the country, can you believe the comparison between how regular people fear, and these soilders fear... I believe they're quite equal. Therefore since I put people in the picture, think about the people too."

"Okay I'll take that into consideration."

"Miss McGarden, what do you think of Lucy's response? Killers are aiming to kill you? Dream-wise."

Levy looked up at his tall figure with confusion, "Of course, they're chasing you meaning your dream is communicating with you in a way that in dreams like that, you... u-um, run."

While Levy stammered at the last sentence, in thought, his gaze went over to Juvia. Her heart stopped. _Oh fuck. Holy fuck. Oh my he's looking at me. Did I do something wrong? Is it because I'm late?_

"Miss Lockser?"

Juvia stopped biting on the tip of the pen unconciously with her head tilted, she kept her head straight and sat up facing Mr. Gildarts. She pressed her lips into a thin line thinking for just two seconds, she's got a piece of mind, she just doesn't let people know about them.

"I'm going to agree with Levy. However the answer is that, Mr. Clive, it depends." She gives him her opinion boldly, "It's all about the mind. And your control. The message the dream is trying to give you. Since sometimes you can't control your dreams... back to the soilders, it's uncontrollable and terrifying, but is it really what the dream has to be doing? Does the killer_have_ to chase after you?"

"Too in depth Lockser." Gildarts cautioned, "Be reminded this is only a scenario where you immediately felt fear in a dream you are not aware that you can't control."

"You asked Lucy if she's ever felt fear in a dream. I'm just explaining a clearer perspective on why the killer as Levy said, has to chase you."

"Explain some evidence to back up the claim, get me pwoned Lockser. C'mon, talk to me."

The class watched their debate, Juvia hid her blush that left her face feeling hot all over. Look at how much attention she's recieving... _you... no, no one experienced fear as much I have in a dream. I can't be kept out of it. They can't keep me out..._Juvia brushed a strand of hair behind her ear, evidence? That's easy. Juvia tapped her chin.

"Lucid dreaming." She stopped tapping. Mr. Clive narrowed his eyebrows, interested, "What about it? What could that possibly be suitable for evidence to dreams itself?"

People are surprised she's not even proved wrong about the master at making people feel like shit themselves.

"They have a difference. I would know. lucid dreams, you can control them, therefore you can stop the killer from running after you if a lucid dream dealt with that situation."

Some people "oo-ed" and "ah-ed".

Mr. Clive shoved his hands back in his pockets, "Come to my class after school, Lockser. WE'VE GOTTEN A LITTLE OFF TOPIC? HAVEN'T WE?" He hollered making his way back down the rows and sitting on top of the black desk that faced them, he didn't bother to sit on his chair.

"Let's now continue the lesson. Heartfilia, McGarden, get the wax out of your ears god damn it."

Both girls bit their lips nodding and obeying embarassed, the class lets out their laughs they've been dying to let out for ages, Juvia didn't laugh though. She wondered what he needed to talk to her about after school. She bit her lip. _He must not get a damned clue about my dreams._She thought. She's not normal. She's a mystery. Probably that's why he eyed her... the quiet ones.


End file.
